Charms and Bubbles
by lydiamaartin
Summary: Victoire needs help with a charm, and Teddy needs help in telling Victoire how he feels. So of course, Victoire can't get her spell right and Teddy can't properly ask her out. Maybe one afternoon together is what they need. - TeddyVictoire


**Disclaimer: If you've been living under a rock, I own no one that you recognize.**

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"_Teddy!_" The voice that called his name was sweet and full of life, just like the girl herself. Teddy glanced up from his broom cleaning kit to greet Victoire Weasley with a grin as she raced towards him, her smile as bright as ever.

"Yeah, Vicka?" He asked casually, well aware of how the warmth in her eyes caused his stomach to flip-flop.

"I need your help," she informed him cheerfully, plopping a thick, hardback book onto his lap.

"A textbook?" Teddy tried hard not to whine. "Vic, I've _graduated_. That means I don't have to do schoolwork," he reminded her.

"I know. But I just don't get it!" Strawberry-glossed lips twisted into a pout. "Please? It's your best subject!" she pleaded. He wondered briefly if she was aware of the effect she had on him.

"I—oh, all right," he sighed, knowing even before he said the words that he would give in to her. There was no way he could ever refuse Victoire something.

Victoire beamed at him and let herself fall gracelessly onto the grass besides him as he reluctantly opened the textbook to the bookmarked page.

"Bubbles?" He glanced at her incredulously. "Vic, you learned how to do this in second year."

"I could never do it, even then," she said. "And I want to learn."

"Why don't you ask your mother or father or someone?" Teddy asked her, not as exasperated as he was acting.

"I want _you_ to teach me," Victoire insisted, her eyelashes fluttering—she was using her Veela charm, he knew, but didn't really mind. He would rather she used the charm on him instead of the arrogant prats in her year.

"All right, then." He shifted his weight so he could face her. "Take it out your wand." She obeyed. "Now hold it loosely, you don't need a tight grip for this."

He paused, watching her as she attempted to slacken her grasp on the ivory wood. "No, not quite like that," he told her and reached over to gently adjust her grip, covering his fingers with hers and sliding them down the appropriate length.

"Don't choke your wand," he said in a deliberately low voice, wondering if he had the same effect on her that she did on him. He was disappointed; she showed no outward reaction.

"That better?" She asked innocently, and he fought off the now-familiar desire to just crush his lips to hers and force her to see exactly how much in love with her he was.

"Yes, that's fine. Now, swish it to the left and say the incantation." He used his own wand to demonstrate. "_Ebullioi!_"

Victoire copied him almost exactly, but at the last moment, her loose grip faltered and only a tiny, translucent bubble popped out of the end of her wand. She sighed, disappointed.

"Come on, I know you're not going to give up," Teddy encouraged. "It's not that hard, you'll get it!"

Ten minutes later, even he wasn't so sure.

"I don't get it!" Victoire sounded frustrated. "I get perfectly good grades in all my other subjects, but the one subject _you're_ good at, I'm horrible!"

"It is _not_ the 'one subject I'm good at'," Teddy began, half-offended, then paused, glancing at her sidelong. "Why does it matter to you, being good at my best subject?" He asked her, feeling slightly giddy when she blushed.

"It—it doesn't," she lied, obviously and awkwardly. An elated, rushing sensation filled his stomach; maybe his feelings weren't completely unrequited.

"All right," he smiled, knowing he was being patronizing, but not really caring. "Then let's try it again."

Victoire chewed on her lip as she slid her wand back into position against her palm. Teddy watched carefully as she cast the spell. So far, her grip had broken, her pronunciation had been wrong, her swish had been in the wrong direction and a multitude of other things had gone wrong with her spell.

He held his breath as she spoke the charm. He could see nothing wrong so far.

Sparkling golden bubbles shot out of her wand, surrounding the air in front of them. Victoire giggled, thrilled as she stood and spun so the bubbles formed a circle around the two of them.

Teddy grinned at her when the bubbles weren't obscuring his view of her face. "Good job," he praised while she batted at the golden globes that filled the air.

"Thanks!" He caught a glimpse of the bright smile on her face before she launched herself through the soapy spheres and hugged him tight.

He stumbled backwards from the impact before straightening and hugging her back, inhaling the scent of her apple shampoo and wishing he could stay like this forever.

"Out of curiosity," he said, pulling back, "why were you so determined to make bubbles?"

She smiled sheepishly. "It's for Lily. She saw these in one of her fairytales that I was reading to her and asked me to make bubbles for her. I couldn't, of course, but I promised her I would learn and then show her."

Teddy smiled down at his best friend, "Vicka, you're amazing," he said honestly. "Only you would do something so trivial for your cousin."

Standing so close to her, it was easier to see her blush. "You would have done it too," she said, though she seemed pleased.

He popped a bubble that floated near her hair, hesitant, even as he ran over his next words in his mind. Was it the right time? Would there ever be a right time? Did she feel the same way?

"Vicka," he began, carefully gauging her reaction. She blinked up at him with curious blue eyes.

"W-would you, um, maybe want to, g-go—" His stammering, he knew, was a result of staring at her for so long. It was ridiculously easy for him to get distracted by her wide, trusting gaze or her cheerfully warm smile, or her—

He sighed, frustrated, and crashed his lips onto hers.

Victoire's breath was hot as their lips collided, and her mouth was accordingly warm. She hadn't been expecting him to kiss her, but there was no fear of her pulling away, not when she had already wound her arms around his neck and was kissing back.

When oxygen became an issue, Teddy reluctantly ended their kiss, breathing hard and fast as he stared at her, trying to figure out what she was thinking.

"Wow," she whispered, her hands sliding down his chest as she regained her breath. A few stray bubbles hovered near their heads. Victoire freed a hand to pop them.

Teddy opened his mouth to say something, but nothing seemed quite right, given the circumstances. He wished he could be as charming as some of his friends, who always said the right things at the right time. Here he was, having just kissed the girl of his dreams and he had nothing good to say.

Victoire met his gaze and smiled; he settled for a second kiss.

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**Author's Notes: So, how was that? I was going for sweet and fluffy, if you didn't notice. Review and tell me what you think!**


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